Me Wants It: Valerie Mayen, McQueen, Choo and more!

Did you know that Cleveland, OH holds its own Fashion Week every May?

Or that three Ohioans competed in Season 5 of Project Runway?  

Or that Seasons 3, 6 and 7 also each had one contestant from the state?

Or that at least ten different Ohio schools offer degrees in Fashion Design?

Most people don't think "fashion" when they think of Cleveland, yet fashion is an important facet of the city.

Project Runway kicked off it's 8th Season last week.  During the premiere episode we were introduced to another local contestant: Valerie Mayen.  Although she's been sworn to secrecy regarding the show, the local buzz is that she may be among the final contestants competing for top prize.

Valerie's designs, and her shop Yellowcake, are well known amongst Clevelanders who do follow fashion.  This weeks edition of "Me Wants It" includes two coats from her etsy shop that would be perfect for those chilly Cleveland days that are around the corner.

  

I love the name of this Valerie Mayen coat: The Blue Kangaroo.  How cute is that, and how great is the color?    

This white Valerie Mayen coat is also just as lust-worthy.  Great shape, excellent-looking construction.  I don't know which coat I like more.
 

 

This military-inspired Jack by BB Dakota coat is not as luxe as Mayen's pieces, but it is still on trend. 

Moving on to footwear, first up are these Frye Over the Knee Boots in distressed, pebbled leather.  I can't decide between smoke and black.  Which do you prefer?

Then we have these Jimmy Choo suede ankle boots.  I love this take on shearling - very glamorous. 

Saks Fifth Avenue NYC recently announced that it would begin carrying some designs in size 14 (and up) in (extremely) limited numbers.  In the meantime, I can pretend the two dresses come in my size.

I love the exposed lining and frayed wool in this Alexander McQueen's distressed pencil dress.  

There is a definite vintage feel to this printed silk dress by Erdem.  All it needs is a pen necklace like the one Joan wears on Mad Men!

My weekly bag pick is this Sara Berman studded slouch bag.  Check out the different sizes of the studs on the bottom of the bag.  It's a softer look than the studded bags of the past few seasons.

 
  

Finally we have this simple necklace by Gorjana.  I'm a huge fan of her line, and this piece is no exception.  

What are you coveting?  What Fall trends are you most excited about? 

All images courtesy of net-a-porter, Etsy, shopbop, and ModCloth 

Me Wants It: Labradorite, Alice + Olivia, maxi dresses and more!

What do you do when you need a distraction of some sort, but you don’t feel like leaving your home and putting on a “happy face”?  I love my friends dearly, but lately I have just needed some time to myself.  I know that when you are grieving over a break-up you SHOULD “suck it up” so to speak and force  yourself to be social, but sometimes I just don’t have the energy to act like everything is OK.

So what do you do instead? 

I’ve been spending a lot of time online “window shopping” and expanding my shopping lists.

Let’s start with the items I am currently coveting from shopbop and net-a-porter.  These would all be GREAT additions to my life:

This oversized Roberto Cavalli labradorite ring.  As Gollum would say “me wants it….”

I love Alice + Olivia and this one-shoulder draped silk and jersey minidress is just gorgeous.   Love the color!

And in the same vein, this Alice + Olivia faux wrap dress.

Then we have this fun Alice+ Olivia sequin minidress in Bronze.

And for a more casual look, I NEED to own this Alice + Olivia sequin stripe tee!

This printed silk-blend georgette dress by Diane von Furstenberg would be a perfect addition to both my professional and night-out wardrobes.   *love*

You can never have enough maxi dresses, and this one by Patterson J. Kincaid is screaming “buy me”

In addition to maxi dresses, you can also never own enough jersey dresses.  Like this one by Helmut Lang:

And how about this fabulous Only Hearts lace bomber jacket? Who needs cardigans when you can wear this instead!

This leopard print wrap dress by Haute Hippie has a halter neck – and would look great on a curvy woman like myself!

Gorjana’s designs never cease to impress me.  This Graham studded wrap bracelet is the latest item I am coveting from her collection, and at only $50 it’s a MUST BUY item.

I love window shopping.

(all images from net-a-porter and shopbop)